Cynthia Enloe's 2016 Keynote Address: "When Does 'Post-War' Start? Does It Ever End? Feminist Insights."

Event and Presentation
Lisa McLean
Lisa McLean
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Leslie Dwyer
Cynthia Enloe's 2016 Keynote Address: "When Does 'Post-War' Start? Does It Ever End? Feminist Insights."
Event Date:

April 11, 2016 1:00pm through 2:00pm

Past Event
Event Type: Event
Eventbrite - Feminism for the Future: Critical Perspectives on Feminism and Conflict Resolution
The CGC is fortunate to host the visionary feminist writer and professor,
Dr. Cynthia Enloe as our conference keynote speaker at our 4th annual conference, Feminism for the Future, on Monday, April 11 at 1pm.

Dr. Enloe is returning after her very successful lecture at the CGC's 2015 conference in which she discussed some of the key questions currently facing feminists in the fields of international relations and conflict resolution. Enloe explored topics including the newfound interest in masculinities in academic and policy arenas, what it looks like to pursue a feminist foreign policy, and how militarism and gendered relations of power are woven into the social fabric of even the most ostensibly peaceful nations, such as Sweden. At the root of Enloe's 2015 speech was a concern for what kinds of research, theory, and policy are labeled 'interesting,' 'serious,' or 'worthy of attention,' noting the profoundly gendered assumptions that often underlie each of these terms. 


One of the defining themes of Cynthia Enloe's career is her insistence on the critical need to develop and foster a 'feminist curiosity' by taking women's lives seriously. In doing so, researchers, theorists, and policy-makers become attuned to the gendered workings of power and how gendered ideologies and assumptions are embedded in social structures and institutions, thus producing gendered outcomes. A feminist curiosity urges us to consider how gender relations are also embedded in interstate relationships and arms deals, as well as in grassroots peacebuilding among actors who go unrecognized by the state. Furthermore, a feminist curiosity considers the gendered discursive moves that marginalize women's voices and stories, allowing the study of their lives to be deemed 'uninteresting' or unworthy of academic attention. Enloe's writing has influenced a generation of young feminists and has significantly contributed to disrupting the silences around the gendered dimensions of conflict and peace. 

This year, Cynthia Enloe will be returning to George Mason University to reflect on her recent experiences engaging with feminist activists and organizers in so-called 'post-conflict' settings, ultimately questioning what it is that we consider to be 'peace' and 'conflict' when viewed from a feminist perspective. As evidenced by the title of her lecture, Dr. Enloe will be training her feminist curiosity the assumptions surrounding the 'post-conflict' moniker, and what happens when war 'ends.' This lecture is sure to be of interest not only to students of gender and conflict, but to scholars and practitioners of conflict broadly. 

The keynote address is free and open to the public thanks to support provided by the Student Association for Gender and Conflict. 

Tickets are available at our conference registration site. Register now!
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